Bridging the network gap to help communities in times of uncertainties

The global Covid-19 pandemic has been challenging for all of us. As nations all over the world navigate this evolving health crisis, we have been inspired by stories of our LinkedIn members who have come together to create positive change through their network.

I learned about the story of Lim Zi Xuan Delane a Singaporean, who went above and beyond to inspire his community, gather his team and a host of other volunteers to give out sleeping bags and toiletries to stranded Malaysians when Malaysia closed its borders to Singapore as the situation escalated in the region. 

 There’s also the story of Sapna Sadsya, Business Navigation and Operations Manager at Ikea India. She volunteered with 20 other company employees to help sanitize and equip a quarantine center for 200 people.

Network matters

 We hope not only to continue bridging networks to do good in times of crisis, but also to help professionals stay connected to opportunities. Our data tells us that people with strong networks are generally more confident about their future than those with weaker or less diverse networks. There are three factors that contribute to our networks:

• Where you grow up. People living in India’s metro areas are almost 2x as likely to have strong networks than their people living in non-metro areas. We’ve seen the same dynamics play out in Australia, where professionals in New South Wales are more likely to have a stronger network than people in any other places in Australia.
• Where you go to school. In the Philippines and India, top university graduates are 1.5 times more likely to have a strong network than those who attended other schools.
• Where you work. A member who works at a Top Company is almost 2x more likely to have a strong network.

Globally and in APAC, four in five people believe that connecting with the right community can bring them closer to their next opportunity when the right time comes; help them feel more confident about their future; bridge the gap.

However, only one out of four people are actively seeking out networking and mentoring opportunities. The rest are looking for guidance on how to make those connections.  

We believe LinkedIn’s professional community has a role to play in helping mitigate the network gap. This cannot come at a better time as companies and professionals have been called to adapt and rethink the way they operate and work. Many are working remotely during this time, giving us far fewer opportunities to connect in person.

 We must take this as a transformational time, and find ways to stay connected to our networks for our well-being and continued growth. 

 We are in it together

We’ve been thinking about how our vision of creating economic opportunities for every member of the global workforce can be even more relevant today. One of the ways we are doing this is through our LinkedIn Coaches programme, an initiative for job seekers facing barriers in growing their careers and expanding their networks. The results have been encouraging so far. Job seekers who have attended LinkedIn Coaches workshops are 2.5 times more likely to build a strong professional network on LinkedIn after participating in the programme. 

For example, we’ve already run a series of virtual LinkedIn Coaches sessions in the Asia Pacific region, beginning with a ten-day virtual LinkedIn Coaches session in China with over 300 graduating students who needed career advice during this challenging time.

In addition, we are committed to connecting businesses with urgent and essential hiring needs to people who have the right skills via access to free hiring resources. We have kicked off a global initiative by offering free job postings and promoting urgent jobs and hiring resources to help critical industries in the frontlines find talent quickly.  

If you need help, reach out to your network. If you’re in a position to extend support, connect others to people you know who might be able to help.

More than ever, we need one another to get through the uncertainties, and that includes people outside of our families and social circles. A helpful resource is linkedin.com/coronavirus.

We wish everyone well and our LinkedIn community is here to help you. If you have received help from your community or would like to share your initiatives to help others in this climate, please share your stories with me here. #InItTogether